


Begin Again

by Elri



Category: Hamlet (2009), Hamlet - All Media Types, Hamlet - Shakespeare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:38:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5538440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elri/pseuds/Elri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A second chance...to make things right...to save him</p>
            </blockquote>





	Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oopsabird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oopsabird/gifts).



No one approached Horatio as he knelt there on the floor with his dear friend’s body still wrapped in his arms, slowly losing warmth. Some had the fortitude to look away, others had the fortitude not to. They were all lost. The entire royal family was dead, Fortinbras would most likely make his claim to the throne. He could decide what to do about the man whose heart and spirit had been shattered into a fine dust that settled around the still life in the room. By now not even his sobs disturbed the mournful tranquility.

As the footsteps of Fortinbras and his company echoed down to them from the hall they carefully shifted. Heads turned towards the door, then to each other, avoiding what was left of the broken man in the middle of the room. Only Horatio didn’t look up, but he heard the footsteps nonetheless. Still, no one took action.

“Please.” One word broke the spell. A plea. A prayer. “Please.” A second chance...to make things right...to save him, “Please.”

The doors opened. Horatio looked up and found himself observing a servant carrying in the recorders. Hamlet stood in Rosencrantz’s personal space in front of him, Guildenstern stood to the left. The ringing in his ears made his head spin as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. A flash of wood summoned his hand out to catch the recorder thrown to him. It was real, there was no mistake. Which meant the rest of it had to be as well.

Hamlet was still alive.

The room picked up speed. If Horatio hadn’t already been sitting down he surely would be now. He sat back and watched Hamlet now confront Guildenstern (or was is Rosencrantz? He’d never been sure), moving forward this time when Hamlet shoved the other man back using the recorder like a weapon against his neck.

Horatio laid a gentle hand against Hamlet’s arm and whispered, “Hamlet, Polonius is coming.”

Hamlet looked at him, not quite understanding, but relaxed even still at Horatio’s touch and allowed himself to be guided back to the thrones.

“I think you should talk with your mother,” Horatio kept his voice low and his hand on Hamlet’s elbow, keeping a distance from forming between them. It looked as though Hamlet was about to respond but Horatio cut in, not giving him a chance, “She does still care about you, Hamlet, I can see it in her eyes. Her marriage to Claudius hasn’t changed that. Be kind in your words and not hasty in your actions.”

“How can you know what’s in my mother’s eyes?” There was anger and sorrow and confusion in Hamlet’s words.

“Because when she looks at you my heart recognizes in them a love that I feel as well.”

Hamlet’s eyes grew wide with shocking realization and his hand came up to grip at Horatio’s elbow, “Love? You love me?”

“With every beat of my heart, and all the spaces in between.” Polonius had by this time arrived and now cleared his throat. Horatio barely gave him a passing, “A moment, sir,” over his shoulder before turning his full focus back to Hamlet. “Please, if ever you did hold me in your heart, heed me this once no matter if you ever do again. Be kind in your words, and be not hasty in your actions.”

“Good Horatio, you have my word I will heed yours.” Hamlet moved his hand to the back of Horatio’s head and brought it to where he could press his lips to the other man’s forehead. “I shall return,” He promised before turning to Polonius. “My mother, yes? Off we go then.”

The young prince traipsed off in the direction of his mother’s chambers, Polonius trailing behind. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern watched them go and gave each other the same bewildered look before turning it on Horatio but he had already gone. No doubt they had questions but even if they could figure out what the right ones were Horatio didn’t owe them any answers.

He thought of waiting in his room but that was too far; Hamlet’s were probably bugged; it was too cold to be anywhere outside. So Horatio tucked himself into a niche in a back staircase where Hamlet was likely to come to get away from everyone else. Even though he wasn’t tired he still found himself drifting off, and it seemed as though his mind was drifting away from his body.

It wandered through the halls to the queen’s chamber. Horatio hadn’t realized he even knew where they were. He’d never had occasion to walk that part of the palace.

Gertrude was there, of course, sitting at her powder table (or was it a vanity…was there a difference?), watching the reflection of Hamlet in the mirror. He stood tall and proud, looking every bit the king he was destined to be even though the false crown lay abandoned on the bed. It was obvious he wanted to shout at her but he kept his tone level and his words civil. When that became too much for Gertrude to handle she moved to face him directly, hitting her hands against her son’s chest. He grabbed her wrist but only held it for a moment before dropping it and stepping away. There came a noise from behind the mirror, Hamlet darted for the gun in the bedside table.

“Be not hasty, my lord.” Horatio pleaded though Hamlet could not hear him. And yet, the gun was put away.

“Come out, villain.” But it was Polonius who revealed himself. “Not the villain, the fool. Away with you, I would speak to my mother in private.” At Gertrude’s nod, Polonius bowed and left without a word, much to the relief of all present. Horatio could not yet bring himself to leave but he did not want to intrude on their conversation so he turned away to wonder at the cracks in the mirror that were not there.

A cold spell slipped into the room, marking the entrance of the ghost that had started the trouble in Denmark.

“Away with you.” Horatio did not realize he had spoken till the ghost turned to him, as though daring him to speak again. “Be gone. Have you not done enough? Why should Hamlet have to avenge your mistakes? Let him have the freedom to make his own and learn from them instead. You cause more harm by being here than not. Claudius will face his comeuppance. See now, your son begins to pull the veil away from your widow’s eyes. She will see the truth, and the country will stand with her when she reveals it. You have what you came for, even if it isn’t the way you’d wanted. Go on, your well-deserved rest is waiting.”

Hamlet Sr. considered him for a long while, Horatio stood his ground. This time when the shadow left he did it with a nod, long before the cock was due to crow.

“Hamlet, are you sure you want to leave so soon?” Gertrude’s question drew Horatio back to the present. Mother and son were sitting on her bed.

“I need to be away from here for a while, clear my head. And the longer I’m away from school the more work I’ll have later.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your young man Horatio, would it?”

“Motheeeer” Horatio and Gertrude both smiled at Hamlet’s embarrassed petulance.

“He cares about you.”

“I know.” This time Hamlet smiled.

“And you him?” Horatio couldn’t see Hamlet’s face when he looked at Gertrude but it must have held some kind of answer. “Go to him then. And return to Wittenberg with my blessing.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

As Hamlet stood to leave, Horatio felt the pull back to himself.

“Horatio, Horatio!”

“Hmm what?” Horatio opened his eyes to the smiling face of his prince. “How’d it go?”

“I’m going back, Horatio, I’m going back to school!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“It’s thanks to you, without you I would have gone storming in there and…” Hamlet’s eyes unfocused as he came to the realization of what almost happened. “Oh god, I could have killed him.”

“You didn’t,” Horatio put his hand on Hamlet’s arm to pull him back, “You didn’t, it’s alright now.”

“If I didn’t know better, Horatio, I’d say you knew a lot more than you should be able to.”

“I’ve no idea what you could mean.”

“No, I suppose not.” Looking back it’s not clear if Hamlet or Horatio moved first but they still met lips first in the middle. It was clumsy and a little overeager but it was exactly what they needed. “Come on, the sooner we’re packed the sooner we’re out of here. Are you with me?”

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, Olivia!


End file.
